Policy Text
Field Services Page 1 of 6 06/10(REV1/20 )
Stolen or Embezzled Motor Vehicles
Lost or Stolen License Plates
The purpose of this order is to outline the procedure of responding to and handling
stolen or embezzled motor vehicle complaints and/or lost or stolen license plates.
I. General
A. The California Highway Patrol will be the primary law enforcement
agency in the unincorporated area of Sacramento County assigned to
investigate the thefts of vehicles or of vehicle license plates.
B. Sheriff's patrol officers will handle stolen vehicle reports in the
circumstances outlined in Section III of this order.
C. The Sheriff's Office will be the primary law enforcement agency in cases
of embezzlement or fraud involving vehicles.
II. Definitions
Definitions as used in this document:
A. Vehicle Theft - Theft of any vehicle, trailer, earth moving equipment,
mobile home, trailer coach, or vessel that as a matter of routine custom,
habit, and practice is registered with a respective State D epartment of
Motor Vehicle.
B. Other Devices - Go carts, riding lawn mowers, motorized wheel chairs or
transportable and unregistered construction equipment, which is not as a
matter of routine custom, habit, or practice, registered with a State
Department o f Motor Vehicles.
III. When To Take Reports
A. The Sheriff's Office shall have the investigative responsibility in vehicle
theft cases where other crimes have also been committed.
Violations directly connected with the initial theft of a vehicle (as opposed to
criminal acts committed while in possession of the vehicle). Examples:
carjacking, closed garage/shop is burglarized and a vehicle is stolen in the
process. If the Highway Patrol responds to an auto theft and determines there
were other crimes involved, t hey will request the Sheriff's Office to respond and
Field Services Page 2 of 6 06/10(REV1/20 ) handle the investigation.
B. The Sheriff's Office shall have the investigative responsibility in those
cases where a stolen vehicle is stopped or found by a Deputy Sheriff in
the unincorporated area of Sac ramento County when:
1. Occupied in an area of Sheriff's jurisdiction. If the CHP was the
agency that reported the vehicle as stolen, it shall be notified of the
recovery in case it has an immediate interest.
2. Unoccupied in an area of Sheriff's Office jurisdiction. The deputy
should recover the vehicle and take the recovery report. The
recovery should not routinely be referred to the CHP. The CHP will
respond and take the report, if the deputy has been dispatched to
another call.
3. If a deputy has re covered a stolen vehicle and CHP has indicated
the vehicle should be held for identification, CHP will arrange for
and complete the identification work.
C. The Sheriff's Office shall be dispatched to unoccupied stolen vehicle
recoveries and have the investig ative responsibility in cases where the
Sheriff's Office was the original reporting agency.
D. The Sheriff's Office shall be the primary law enforcement agency in
cases where a vehicle is the object of an embezzlement or fraud.
E. The Sheriff’s Office will have the investigative responsibility if a deputy
responds to a felony crime scene and a vehicle theft is secondary to the
main incident. The deputies SHALL NOT refer the victim to CHP for the
associated stolen vehicle report but will include the in formation in his/her
report.
F. CHP will take a stolen vehicle report in cases where the vehicle has
been taken from an open garage or car lot. Gates or cables preventing
access to a car lot or storage area, which have been destroyed to gain
entry, will not preclude CHP from taking a stolen vehicle report even
though the crime of trespassing was committed.
1. However, if the building is burglarized on a car lot at the same time
a vehicle is taken, then the Sheriff’s Office will become the primary
investigati ng agency.
Field Services Page 3 of 6 06/10(REV1/20 ) G. The Sheriff's Office shall investigate theft cases involving "other devices"
as listed in Section II, Sub -section B. They shall be entered into both the
Automated Property System (APS) and the Stolen Vehicle System
(SVS).
H. Vessels:
1. The Sherif f's Office shall have the primary investigative
responsibility for any vessel theft that occurs while the vessel was
in the water.
2. The Highway Patrol shall have the investigative responsibility for
vessel thefts stolen as loads on trailers, from public or private
property.
IV. Embezzled Vehicles
A. In cases of vehicle embezzlement, the owner must be able to establish
that the subject in possession of the vehicle had notice to return the
vehicle. The chain of evidence establishing this might include verbal
conv ersations between the owner and suspect and/ or other
documentation showing the subject knew the owner was demanding
return of the vehicle.
NOTE: A demand letter sen t certified or registered mail is no longer
mandatory .
B. If circumstances indicate that the crime of embezzlement has occurred,
an officer should:
1. Inquire if any request for the vehicle s return has been made or if
there is any other documented, legitimate evidence establishing the
subject knew the vehicle should have been returned to the own er.
C. Take an Embezzled Vehicle report when:
1. The location of the suspect is unknown.
2. Other evidence establishes the suspect knew